Four students from University of Limerick have become the first team outside of Canada to claim the top honours at the International Engineering and Commerce Case Competition (ECCC) in Montreal.

Hosted by the renowned Université Concordia, the inter-disciplinary competition is the only test of its type in the world and is rated as one of the top case challenges in North America. The aim of the competition is to find solutions to real-world challenges that modern industries face. Each team comprised students from engineering and business disciplines.

The University of Limerick students were flying the flag for Europe, with the other 11 teams hailing from North America and the Middle East. As well as winning the overall title, the UL team won Best Engineering Solution and Best Sustainable Solution honours.

The team, made up of Patrick Lu (Co Limerick), Eoin Hann (Co Limerick), Darren Feehily (Co Tipperary) and David Monaghan (Co Clare), had to create innovative solutions in three different tasks. These included creating a Data Centre Design and Strategy, designing a solution for a tunnel based on Hyperloop technology and developing a strategy for the autonomous vehicle market.

(L to R) David Monaghan, Patick Lu, Darren Fehilly and Eoin Hann

The UL team was selected to represent Ireland following their win in the ESB Inter Colleges Challenge last November. This annual competition comprises teams from all universities in Ireland. During that task, the team researched and designed a complex engineering and financial energy challenge in just seven hours

During the event in Montreal, ESB announced its continued support of Irish universities competing in the ECCC competition.

Commenting on the team’s success, Pat O’Doherty, Chief Executive of ESB, said: “We heartily congratulate the University of Limerick team and their mentors on this wonderful win. To create such innovative and real-life solutions in such a highly competitive environment and against world class competition is testament to the dedication and capability of this team, their mentors and lecturers in UL. We look forward to supporting and developing the team further when they start their placements with ESB in the summer”.

The ESB-Inter College Challenge 2017 takes place in November with the ECCC Competition taking place in March 2018.